Medical Marijuana Float To Debut in Thanksgiving Day Parade

A rendering of the float that will be in the 2014 McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from medical marijuana clinic Good Intentions in Wicker Park (Courtesy/Tammy Jacobi)

CHICAGO — The city’s first medical marijuana clinic will be tossing goodies out to the kids from its float in the Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday, but don’t worry — they’re not giving out the goods.

Good Intentions, at 1723 N. Ashland Ave. in Wicker Park, will be in the State Street parade sponsored by McDonald’s Thursday morning among floats from places like McDonald’s and the Brookfield Zoo.

The float will feature “a garden of flowers in bloom,” including onion grass and flowers beneath a 12-foot-long banner that reads “Growing With Illinois.”

Marijuana lovers need not clamor around the float, however: “There are no marijuana plants on the float,” a representative of ABC Parade Floats said.

“Just as plants grow and flower, the company has blossomed into an organization that provides hope for the most seriously ill citizens of Illinois,” said Good Intentions owner Tammy Jacobi.

Passengers on the float will toss out bead necklaces, toy turkeys on parachutes, candy footballs and coins to the crowd.

Illinois was the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana use in August 2013. Twenty-three U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana, and the topic remains a controversial one.

Jacobi said she did not anticipate negative crowd reaction.

“We’re hoping that parents take the time to explain what medical marijuana is to their children and enlighten a younger generation of the benefits of emerging science and compassion,” Jacobi said in an email to DNAinfo Chicago.